US4942439A - Light-emitting diode of GaAsP compound semiconductive material - Google Patents

Light-emitting diode of GaAsP compound semiconductive material Download PDF

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Publication number
US4942439A
US4942439A US07/213,181 US21318188A US4942439A US 4942439 A US4942439 A US 4942439A US 21318188 A US21318188 A US 21318188A US 4942439 A US4942439 A US 4942439A
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surface layer
emitting diode
light
sbsb
layer
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Expired - Fee Related
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US07/213,181
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English (en)
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Werner Schairer
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Telefunken Electronic GmbH
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Telefunken Electronic GmbH
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10H—INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
    • H10H20/00—Individual inorganic light-emitting semiconductor devices having potential barriers, e.g. light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H10H20/80—Constructional details
    • H10H20/81—Bodies
    • H10H20/822—Materials of the light-emitting regions
    • H10H20/824—Materials of the light-emitting regions comprising only Group III-V materials, e.g. GaP
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10H—INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
    • H10H20/00—Individual inorganic light-emitting semiconductor devices having potential barriers, e.g. light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H10H20/01—Manufacture or treatment
    • H10H20/011—Manufacture or treatment of bodies, e.g. forming semiconductor layers
    • H10H20/013—Manufacture or treatment of bodies, e.g. forming semiconductor layers having light-emitting regions comprising only Group III-V materials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10H—INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
    • H10H20/00—Individual inorganic light-emitting semiconductor devices having potential barriers, e.g. light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H10H20/80—Constructional details
    • H10H20/81—Bodies
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10H—INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
    • H10H20/00—Individual inorganic light-emitting semiconductor devices having potential barriers, e.g. light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H10H20/80—Constructional details
    • H10H20/81—Bodies
    • H10H20/817—Bodies characterised by the crystal structures or orientations, e.g. polycrystalline, amorphous or porous
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10H—INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
    • H10H20/00—Individual inorganic light-emitting semiconductor devices having potential barriers, e.g. light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H10H20/80—Constructional details
    • H10H20/81—Bodies
    • H10H20/819—Bodies characterised by their shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrates
    • H10H20/821—Bodies characterised by their shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrates of the light-emitting regions, e.g. non-planar junctions

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a light-emitting diode of III/V compound semiconductive material having lattice constants heavily dependent on the respective material composition of the mixed crystal, in particular to a GaAsP light-emitting diode.
  • a light-emitting diode made from a semiconductive material of this type, for example from GaAsP or GaInP is known from the book “Optoelektronik I", Springer Verlag, 1980, pages 139-142.
  • FIG. 5.5 on page 140 of this publication is a diagram of such a GaAs 0 .6 P 0 .4 light emitting diode.
  • the luminescence occurrence in semiconductors made from III/V compounds is based on radiant recombination of electrons of the conduction band with holes from the valence band, with the energy released being emitted in the form of photons.
  • This radiant recombination takes place near or within a p-n junction and supplies almost monochromatic light which is generated by transitions between two almost discrete energy levels.
  • the semiconductor Beforehand, however, the semiconductor must be excited in order to increase the density of the charge carriers above their equivalent concentration.
  • Light-emitting diodes of this type work with minority carrier injection in the case of p-n junctions polarized in the flow direction, so-called injection luminescence.
  • the known red-emitting GaAs 0 .6 P 0 .4 light-emitting diodes have an extremely low external quantum efficiency of from approximately 0.4 to 0.6%.
  • the p-n junction cannot, on the other hand, be positioned as close to the surface as wished, as otherwise non-radiant surface recombination will reduce the internal quantum efficiency and consequently also the external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting diode.
  • the thickness of the p-layer must therefore be selected such as to achieve a compromise between volume absorption losses and non-radiant surface recombination.
  • the object underlying the invention is therefore to improve the external quantum efficiency by reducing the losses caused by surface recombination.
  • the object is attained in accordance with the invention in a light-emitting diode of the type mentioned at the outset by arranging on the mixed-crystal layer containing the p-type region a thin surface layer of the same mixed crystal, with the material composition of the surface layer being selected such that the band gap of the layer in relation to that of the covered material is increased and the p-zone extends through this surface layer.
  • this high-quality surface layer in accordance with the invention prevents the charge carriers coming to the surface and recombining there, the diffusion depth of the p-n junction can be reduced and the external quantum efficiency increased by means of a reduction of the volume absorption losses.
  • An advantageous embodiment of the light-emitting diode in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the thin surface layer is applied so thin by means of an abrupt change in the crystal composition that the covering layer grows in a monocrystalline manner and substantially no misfit dislocations are generated.
  • a surface layer GaAs 1- (x.sbsb.o + .sbsb. ⁇ x )P.sub.(x.sbsb.o + .sbsb..DELTA. x ) is arranged on the active layer (layer 2 in the figure), with .sub. ⁇ x being between 0.04 and 0.2 and the thickness of this surface layer preferably being between 5 and 500 nm.
  • the value 0.08 for .sub. ⁇ x and 100 nm ⁇ 50 nm for the thickness of the surface layer proved to be particularly favorable. It is clear here that an optimum diffusion depth of 1 to 1.5 times the diffusion lengths of the injected minority carriers is sufficient, whereas the value is approximately three diffusion lengths according to the prior art.
  • the GaAs light-emitting diode provided with a surface layer of this type according to the invention has a 60% higher photoluminescence efficiency than such GaAs light-emitting diodes without the surface layer, while the external quantum efficiency increases by 30-50%.
  • the figure shows a diagram section through a GaAsP light-emitting diode according to the invention.
  • the light-emitting diode comprises a substrate material 4 of monocrystalline gallium arsenide (GaAs) with n-conductivity and a thickness of 200 to 300 ⁇ m.
  • the adjoining layer 3 serves as the gradient layer to adjust the lattice constants of the semiconductor 4 and the n-conductive layer 2, which comprises the mixed crystal GaAs 0 .6 P 0 .4 and is approximately 20 ⁇ m thick.
  • the insufficiently large lattice constant of the substrate material 4 is thereby adjusted to the lattice constant of the semiconductor layer 2 by the generation of misfit dislocations.
  • the layer 1, directly adjoining layer 2 represents the surface layer of mixed crystal GaAs 0 .52 P 0 .48 and of approximately 100 nm thickness in accordance with the invention, with this surface layer being made epitaxially in the same way as the layers 2 and 3 underneath it. It is therefore possible to integrate the manufacture of the surface layer according to the invention of a GaAsP light-emitting diode without difficulty into the process sequence.
  • the GaAsP light-emitting diode according to the invention and illustrated in the figure is made in a gas-phase epitaxy reactor using the Tietjen-Ruhrwein method, with H 2 S being used as the dopant gas.
  • the method known in the prior art concludes with the deposition of the GaAs 0 .6 P 0 .4 layer 2.
  • the abrupt transition to the surface layer 1 according to the invention is brought about by an interruption in growth achieved by stopping the HCl gas flow.
  • the ratio of AsH 3 /PH 3 is then reduced by about a sixth. After stabilization of the new ratio and a complete exchange of the AsH 3 /PH 3 gas in the reactor volume, typically after 5 minutes, the HCl flow is switched on again and growth resumes.
  • the reaction gases are shut off and the temperature is reduced.
  • the surface of the epitaxy-generated wafer has absolutely no flaws (misfit dislocations) as a result of the formation of the surface layer 1.
  • the p-conductive zone 5 is made by diffusion with zinc and extends through the surface layer 1 according to the invention into the GaAs 0 .6 P 0 .4 layer 2 to form the p-n junction 6, with the thickness x of the p-layer in the layer 2 being approximately 1.2 ⁇ m and the total thickness of the p-layer approximately 1.3 ⁇ m.
  • a metal contact 8, for example of Al, is deposited on the Si 3 N 4 passivation layer 7, and a contact 9, for example of AuGe, is arranged on the rear of the light-emitting diode.
  • the gallium arsenide substrate of the light-emitting diode shown in the figure can also be replaced by gallium phosphide.
  • the surface layer in accordance with the invention can also be arranged on GaInP light-emitting diodes whose substrate material is indium phosphide.
  • a further application of the invention is also possible for mixed crystals of GaInAsP.

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US07/213,181 1987-07-01 1988-06-29 Light-emitting diode of GaAsP compound semiconductive material Expired - Fee Related US4942439A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE3721761 1987-07-01
DE19873721761 DE3721761A1 (de) 1987-07-01 1987-07-01 Leuchtdiode aus iii/v-verbindungs-halbleitermaterial

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US4942439A true US4942439A (en) 1990-07-17

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US07/213,181 Expired - Fee Related US4942439A (en) 1987-07-01 1988-06-29 Light-emitting diode of GaAsP compound semiconductive material

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US (1) US4942439A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JP2716976B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
KR (1) KR960011267B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE3721761A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5041883A (en) * 1990-09-28 1991-08-20 Hewlett-Packard Company Light emitting diodes with nitrogen doping
GB2242783A (en) * 1990-04-06 1991-10-09 Telefunken Electronic Gmbh Light emitting semiconductor device
US5077587A (en) * 1990-10-09 1991-12-31 Eastman Kodak Company Light-emitting diode with anti-reflection layer optimization
US5105236A (en) * 1989-06-23 1992-04-14 Eastman Kodak Company Heterojunction light-emitting diode array
US5135877A (en) * 1990-10-09 1992-08-04 Eastman Kodak Company Method of making a light-emitting diode with anti-reflection layer optimization
US5181084A (en) * 1990-10-04 1993-01-19 Telefunken Electronic Gmbh Infrared light emitting diode with grading
US5258628A (en) * 1992-02-27 1993-11-02 Eastman Kodak Company Linearizing emitted light intensity from a light-emitting device
US6171394B1 (en) * 1997-05-27 2001-01-09 Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. Method for manufacturing compound semiconductor epitaxial wafer
US6180961B1 (en) 1997-06-09 2001-01-30 Oki Electric Industry, C., Ltd. Light emitting semiconductor device with stacked structure
US6222208B1 (en) 1997-06-06 2001-04-24 Oki Data Corporation Light-emitting diode and light-emitting diode array
US6313483B1 (en) 1998-07-01 2001-11-06 Oki Data Communication Light-emitting semiconductor device with reduced nonradiative recombination
US6407410B1 (en) 1998-06-26 2002-06-18 Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Semiconductor optical device

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5729029A (en) * 1996-09-06 1998-03-17 Hewlett-Packard Company Maximizing electrical doping while reducing material cracking in III-V nitride semiconductor devices

Citations (4)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4037241A (en) * 1975-10-02 1977-07-19 Texas Instruments Incorporated Shaped emitters with buried-junction structure
DD205284A1 (de) * 1982-04-23 1983-12-21 Werk Fernsehelektronik Veb Epitaxieschichtanordnung fuer lichtemittierende halbleiterbauelemente und verfahren zur herstellung
US4510515A (en) * 1981-01-28 1985-04-09 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Epitaxial wafer of compound semiconductor display device
US4680602A (en) * 1983-09-06 1987-07-14 Nec Corporation Light emitting diode

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS556312A (en) * 1978-06-27 1980-01-17 Seiko Epson Corp Panel glass with polarizing film

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4037241A (en) * 1975-10-02 1977-07-19 Texas Instruments Incorporated Shaped emitters with buried-junction structure
US4510515A (en) * 1981-01-28 1985-04-09 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Epitaxial wafer of compound semiconductor display device
DD205284A1 (de) * 1982-04-23 1983-12-21 Werk Fernsehelektronik Veb Epitaxieschichtanordnung fuer lichtemittierende halbleiterbauelemente und verfahren zur herstellung
US4680602A (en) * 1983-09-06 1987-07-14 Nec Corporation Light emitting diode

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
Craford et al., "Vapor Phase Epitaxial Materials for LED Applications", Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 61, No. 7, Jul. 1973, pp. 862-880.
Craford et al., Vapor Phase Epitaxial Materials for LED Applications , Proceedings of the IEEE , vol. 61, No. 7, Jul. 1973, pp. 862 880. *

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5105236A (en) * 1989-06-23 1992-04-14 Eastman Kodak Company Heterojunction light-emitting diode array
US5194922A (en) * 1990-04-06 1993-03-16 Telefunken Electronic Gmbh Luminescent semiconductor element
GB2242783A (en) * 1990-04-06 1991-10-09 Telefunken Electronic Gmbh Light emitting semiconductor device
US5041883A (en) * 1990-09-28 1991-08-20 Hewlett-Packard Company Light emitting diodes with nitrogen doping
US5181084A (en) * 1990-10-04 1993-01-19 Telefunken Electronic Gmbh Infrared light emitting diode with grading
US5077587A (en) * 1990-10-09 1991-12-31 Eastman Kodak Company Light-emitting diode with anti-reflection layer optimization
US5135877A (en) * 1990-10-09 1992-08-04 Eastman Kodak Company Method of making a light-emitting diode with anti-reflection layer optimization
US5258628A (en) * 1992-02-27 1993-11-02 Eastman Kodak Company Linearizing emitted light intensity from a light-emitting device
US6171394B1 (en) * 1997-05-27 2001-01-09 Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. Method for manufacturing compound semiconductor epitaxial wafer
US6222208B1 (en) 1997-06-06 2001-04-24 Oki Data Corporation Light-emitting diode and light-emitting diode array
US6180961B1 (en) 1997-06-09 2001-01-30 Oki Electric Industry, C., Ltd. Light emitting semiconductor device with stacked structure
US6407410B1 (en) 1998-06-26 2002-06-18 Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Semiconductor optical device
US6313483B1 (en) 1998-07-01 2001-11-06 Oki Data Communication Light-emitting semiconductor device with reduced nonradiative recombination

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS6435970A (en) 1989-02-07
DE3721761A1 (de) 1989-01-12
JP2716976B2 (ja) 1998-02-18
KR890003051A (ko) 1989-04-12
DE3721761C2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1991-10-31
KR960011267B1 (ko) 1996-08-21

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